The rise of the Golden Age of legalized cannabis has brought forth innovative products for every style and taste. As part of the hemp renaissance, Shine is boss, elevating the luxury cannabis market with its 24K gold rolling papers. Heads Lifestyle rolled a 24K gold blunt with Shine founder Dave Brown who shared his impressions of owning the luxury smoking experience.

Shine founder, Dave Brown celebrates the Golden Age of cannabis.

The rise of the Golden Age of legalized cannabis has brought forth innovative products for every style and taste. As part of the hemp renaissance, Shine is boss, elevating the luxury cannabis market with its 24K gold rolling papers. Heads Lifestyle rolled a 24K gold blunt with Shine founder Dave Brown who shared his impressions of owning the luxury smoking experience.

Heads Lifestyle: A lot of great cannabis-related products have been conceived during late-night smoke sessions. In 2013, when you got your start, could you have imagined your 24K gold rolling papers taking off the way they have?

Dave Brown: We were excited about the product and knew that people’s responses when they saw it in person were always very strong. But, when we started posting on social media, the feedback was immediate and overwhelming. There was no doubt that we had a hit on our hands at that point, as the viral nature of the product was self-evident. We always knew we could succeed as a celebratory item, but we definitely were surprised by how many people began choosing Shine as their everyday paper of choice.

We always knew we could succeed as a celebratory item, but we definitely were surprised by how many people began choosing Shine as their everyday paper of choice.

HL: You were inspired by the glam of luxury cigars. Do you believe your 24K gold rolling papers are elevating cannabis to the level of fine spirits and cigars?

DB: I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ve elevated cannabis accessories to the level of fine spirits and cigars. Setting multiple-use items aside such as glass or vaporizers, Shine created the luxury smoking experience and owns it fully; no one really comes close. I think a clear signal of this is how much mainstream press coverage Shine receives, which I believe is because we hit at the intersection of cannabis and luxury. Forbes, GQ, Goop, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vice, Vogue, and Elle are just a few of the outlets that had to find a singular item to share with their mainstream audience about what’s happening in cannabis now and Shine is always the go-to product for that.

Shine's 24K gold rolling papers

HL: Do you feel that by creating a new lux category of cannabis products—one associated with sophistication and refinement—you are doing your part to break down the longstanding stigma surrounding cannabis?

DB: I absolutely believe we are doing our part to break down the stigma surrounding cannabis. Ignorance leads to fear and allows people to create false narratives in their minds with regards to what cannabis is about and who uses it. It’s not just the kid with baggy pants and a backwards cap that doesn’t feel relatable to other segments of America. When a product like Shine is featured on mainstream platforms, the refinement of the product is a clear signal that we’re entering a new era of cannabis consumption and knowledge about the plant. The novelty and visual appeal of the product also excites people, who may not otherwise be interested in trying cannabis. But lots of people are open to being fancy with their friends.

The novelty and visual appeal of the product also excites people, who may not otherwise be interested in trying cannabis. But lots of people are open to being fancy with their friends.

HL: Tell us about the gold. Where is it sourced? And what about the gold ashes? Has anyone come up with an idea on how to re-purpose them?

DB: The gold is sourced overseas and six different countries make up our supply chain. We’ve seen many people save their gold ashes as a badge that says they’re part of the Goldgang, but no one has re-purposed them beyond that. It’s still ash. There’s only a very thin layer of gold on each paper.

Shine founder Dave Brown

HL: Your Shine Days have really gotten a lot of attention from your followers. Can you tell us about how you came up with the idea and why you wanted to give back to your supporters?

DB: We wanted to own a day like Amazon does with Prime Day. Basically a unique day where there’s not a lot of competition for eyeballs and dollars like other traditional shopping holidays such as 420 or Black Friday. A day where whatever we do can be the top news story of that day in our ecosystem. We decided on February 4th (2/4 for 24K), and created a national scavenger hunt for our goods that our fans love. We receive tons of messages every year from people who didn’t win the hunt but had a great time playing. From our perspective, the engagement and activity it generates makes it the most successful marketing initiative we’ve done, and 2020 will be our 5th anniversary of Shine Day so it’s going to be MASSIVE.

HL: Shine’s 24K gold products are unequalled for rolling out the green carpet for special sessions and celebrations. What do you think is the perfect occasion for turning up the Shine?

DB: We always used to say, people don’t sit at home on the couch by themselves and smoke Shine. Our point was this is a social and celebratory product. So anything from a night out with friends, to a birthday or wedding, and even a few funerals that we’ve shipped product for, these are the times when you should be using Shine. Occasions when you want to connect with the people you care about.

HL: You partnered with NORML to help raise funds with the sale of your 420 packs. As a member of the cannabis community do you feel a responsibility towards supporting ongoing legalization?

DB: Yes, we feel a responsibility to support ongoing legalization. We feel like everyone in the industry has an obligation to do that, even if it’s not with dollars. There are many ways to support from volunteering to even just being a great example of the positive effects cannabis can have on a community. We can all do our part to move that forward.

There are many ways to support from volunteering to even just being a great example of the positive effects cannabis can have on a community. We can all do our part to move that forward.

HL: Your 24K gold rolling papers have sparked a lot of creativity when it comes to custom novelty blunts. Do you feel your unique products appeal to stoners’ inventiveness?

DB: We didn’t invent creative rolling; we just made it way more interesting and allowed these amazing rollers’ creativity to flourish. A great painter needs a wide palette of paints to choose from, and what’s better than gold when you want to make something noteworthy with a creative roll? We have a ton of fun interacting with the rollers and watching the amazing things they can make with Shine. We take a lot of pride in it.

HL: The gold in Shine Papers gets all the attention, but they’re also made of hemp, the cornerstone of the culture. Can you tell us more about that?

DB: It took us awhile to find a paper we really loved. When we first launched Shine, people would sometimes complain about the taste, and the paper had more of a crinkled texture. What was interesting is that when we found a new hemp blend paper, the texture of the paper became super smooth, and the taste became incredibly clean. So the gold attracts people to the product, but the hemp blend paper keeps them with us because the actual smoking experience is far superior to other papers.

HL: What’s next on the horizon for Shine?

DB: We have a ton on our horizon. We’ve launched Shine Cannabis in California. We just launched Shine 24K Gold Vodka. On the smokables side, we’ve launched our hemp blend paper as a stand-alone product called Blaze by Shine. And, we’ve re-launched Pure Leaf, which is our natural leaf blunt wrap, with brand new packaging and a reduced price-point so that people can afford to use it everyday.

From trailblazer to global influencer, Hilary Black shows how passion and dreaming big can transform not only the cannabis space, but also the world.

Heads Lifestyle first interviewed Hilary Black for our feature aHead of their time (Heads Magazine, Issue #8, May 2002). As a medical marijuana activist and founder of Canada’s first medical cannabis dispensary, she was at the forefront of the movement. Today, she is the Chief Advocacy Officer at Canopy Growth, Canada’s largest licensed producer and the world’s most valuable cannabis company. Heads Lifestyle caught up with the very busy C-suite cannabis activist to get her insight on the battle for recognition, post-legalization's evolution and her vision for the future.

From trailblazer to global influencer, Hilary Black shows how passion and dreaming big can transform not only the cannabis space, but also the world.

Heads Lifestyle first interviewed Hilary Black for our feature aHead of their time (Heads Magazine, Issue #8, May 2002). As a medical marijuana activist and founder of Canada’s first medical cannabis dispensary, she was at the forefront of the movement. Today, she is the Chief Advocacy Officer at Canopy Growth, Canada’s largest licensed producer and the world’s most valuable cannabis company. Heads Lifestyle caught up with the very busy C-suite cannabis activist to get her insight on the battle for recognition, post-legalization's evolution and her vision for the future. With her depth of compassion and burning sense of justice, Hilary Black embodies the very best of the cannabis community.

HL: You founded the BC Compassion Club in 1997. Now that you are the Chief Advocacy Officer at Canopy Growth, what is your involvement at the Compassion Club?

HB: I volunteer there and I do my best to help them when they need me. Though I am not an official consultant, I have helped them find their way through several different regulatory processes. And I will always be its mother. So while it has grown up and it has many other people that are living the work of the Compassion Club day-to-day, I will always stay connected to it.

The BC Compassion Club Society storefront in the Kensington–Cedar Cottage neighbourhoods in East Vancouver, Canada.

HL: Heads featured you in our column aHead of their time in 2002—17 years ago!—and you truly were a trailblazer in terms of your prophetic vision for medical marijuana. What is your impression when you look back at those days?

HB: Oh my God! That article is so precious. You know when I look back at media from the very, very early days, it’s almost like I’m looking at a different version of myself, like I’m looking at my little sister or something. It’s amazing how much things have changed since then. And also it’s been a long journey. You know, that interview was really lovely to read. I was quite proud of that young woman in that interview actually. She’s pretty feisty.

I was quite proud of that young woman in that interview actually. She’s pretty feisty.

HL: What originally sparked that feisty young woman to embark on a cannabis crusade?

HB: Well, I learned about hemp on Grateful Dead tour—hemp for fuel, hemp for fibre, hemp for medicine, hemp for food, hemp for fun, hemp to save the planet. When I came back to Vancouver, Marc Emery had opened his hemp store and I very quickly started volunteering and working there. I had some very powerful experiences with the people who were coming and looking for cannabis as a medicine. I felt a great responsibility land in my lap. I felt this mission grab me and it’s almost like the spirit of ganja reached down and claimed me and said, You are now in service of me and your destiny is to spend your adult life working to free me from the chains that bind me. And the last 25 years of my life proved that to be true in that I have chosen to be dedicated to this path, to this mission. So my path was kind of laid out for me. And on the one hand, I can think about the sacrifices, but on the other hand, what a tremendous gift from such a young age to have a very clear sense of purpose and to have a path in this world that is meaningful. It’s not something everybody gets to experience and I feel incredibly privileged to have had that feeling from such a young age and it’s never faded.

I felt a great responsibility land in my lap. I felt this mission grab me and it’s almost like the spirit of ganja reached down and claimed me and said, You are now in service of me and your destiny is to spend your adult life working to free me from the chains that bind me.

HL: In our original interview, your primary focus was on meeting the needs of your medical patients. You detailed a long list of conditions the Compassion Club members suffered from including HIV/AIDS. Can you tell us about those days?

HB: In 1995-1996, when I first started distributing medical cannabis, and then opened the Compassion Club in 1997, Vancouver had an epidemic of HIV and hepatitis transmission rates. The public health authorities literally called it an epidemic. And the epicentre of it, of course, was in the Downtown East Side. There was a group of HIV-positive gay men that wrapped themselves around me and said, You go, girl. You just come out of that cannabis-distributing closet of yours, go public and we’ve got your back. So I had this infusion of courage from these very politically engaged men. That was the landscape of the health crisis that was happening in Vancouver at the time, which is very much reflected, twenty-five years later. Same neighbourhood, same community, but now we have an epidemic of the opioid overdose crisis. The connections and the mirrors of it—it’s a sad, tragic synchronicity. And cannabis has a role to play in both of those crises.

HL: The W.H.O. has acknowledged the “possible therapeutic application… of CBD to treat drug addiction.” Do you believe cannabis will play a critical role in bringing the opioid crisis under control?

HB: Let me tell you a story. Two years ago, my best friend’s daughter whose name is Gemma, when she was 18 years old, died of a fentanyl overdose. I have supported a lot of death and sickness and tragedy in my life, but never like a best friend losing their daughter. So I took a couple months off work and moved in with the family to just get them through.

When I went back to work, my boss, Mark Zekulin, was looking to do something meaningful in terms of social purpose work in British Columbia, and he said, Obviously, B.C. is the epicentre of the opioid overdose epidemic, what should we do? So I reached out to the brilliant Dr. Evan Wood from the B.C. Centre of Substance Use and said, I want to do something that is going to have a systemic impact. Not just a one-and-done. I said, Evan, you are the expert. Give me a project plan of what you would do if you had a big chunk of money. I had no idea how much money Canopy would give me to do the project, but I just wanted to dream big.

The proposal they came back with was to fund an endowment that would support a professorship at the University of British Columbia and that Professorship of Cannabis Science would be solely focused on creating clinical data and running clinical trials around the role of cannabis and cannabinoids as part of the solution to the overdose epidemic. The B.C. Centre of Substance Use had half a million dollars in the bank from the B.C. Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, and they were waiting for a philanthropic donation to match it against before they could spend it. So we put in $2.5 million and created an endowment at the University of British Columbia. They went through their process and selected a wonderful man named Dr. M-J Malloy to become the Canopy Growth Professor of Cannabis Science. They are now engaged in clinical trials, researching the role of cannabis as a part of the toolkit for helping people addicted to opioids. It’s not focused on pain patients; it’s focused on people who are addicted to fentanyl. Through Canopy’s support and faith in me, I created a legacy to Gemma, which is creating a body of clinical evidence that in the years to come will be what healthcare professionals around the world can rely on to understand that cannabis is one of their tools as gateway out of addiction. And these are the kinds of things that I can do working with the country’s and the world’s largest cannabis company.

They are now engaged in clinical trials, researching the role of cannabis as a part of the toolkit for helping people addicted to opioids. It’s focused on people who are addicted to fentanyl.

HL: You are now the Chief Advocacy Officer for Canopy Growth. What motivated you to join forces with the largest producer in Canada and the world’s most valuable cannabis company?

HB: I was one of the early adopters from the activist community who chose to work in the legal market. When I decided to make that move I knew that the Compassion Club model was never going to be successfully replicated across the country. I wanted to work in a systemic way. I believe that one of the fundamental principles of being a Canadian is that we have equal access to healthcare. At that point, patients across the country did not have equal access to medical cannabis. So I wanted to work with one of the early licensed producers, work in the new legal regime even though there were problems with it—it wasn’t my perfect picture of what legalization would look like even on the medical side—but to work with the system that exists and to work from the inside to be able to speak to more physicians and to be able to unlock this medicine for more patients across the country.

HB: I was very, very heavily criticised, shamed even, for making that move. Traitor. Sellout. Shillary. But I was very clear about my strategy, even if people hadn’t caught up with me yet in terms of understanding what my strategy was. I knew that I was on point. And I never really faltered. I believe that it’s my responsibility as a trailblazer and as an activist and as a patient advocate to have as much power as I can and have a seat at the table. That’s exactly what I’ve done. And I have a tremendous amount of influence. My position is meaningful and I am incredibly well-resourced to now take my work global.

I believe that it’s my responsibility as a trailblazer and as an activist and as a patient advocate to have as much power as I can and have a seat at the table. That’s exactly what I’ve done.

HL: What advice would you give to women who want to participate in the cannabis space?

HB: The advice that I would give to women is: this is a brand new industry and it’s becoming global, and there’s huge opportunity. Huge opportunity! I’m the first female member of the C-suite in Canopy, which hopefully, one day, gender balance within the cannabis industry won’t even be a conversation anymore. But I am proud of my company for that. I don’t have that seat at the table because I’m a woman, but being a woman is great in terms of starting to create some more diversity at that level of the company. And Canopy is really committed to our evolution around diversity and inclusion. So that’s one of the many exciting parts of my mandate.

HL: How do you feel now that legalization has been enacted? Triumphant? Tired? Like there is still so much more work to be done?

HB: Really, all of those things are true. But mostly I’m just supercharged. There’s work that we have to do around the evolution of the legal framework in Canada to make it more inclusive and to make it friendlier for small businesses. That’s going to come when we prove that this version of legalization is working and the sky didn’t fall. Kids aren’t addicted. People aren’t driving off the road. We don’t have a huge spike in mental health concerns. I really believe we need a year or maybe longer of really good data showing that this is successful before we’re going to be able to push and open things up. Like the restrictions around advertising and marketing—they’re way too restrictive. It limits some of the education that we need to be able to do.

HL: Now that Canada has taken a major step towards changing public opinion regarding cannabis, what’s next?

HB: Parallel to knowing that we have more work to do in Canada, I am so incredibly proud of my country. I am so proud of us. The legalization of recreational cannabis is not just about the right to get high; this is a social justice issue. It’s about access to healthcare. And it’s about righting a tremendous wrong that is creating so much harm around the world. That’s why I’m passionate about this work. Because freeing this plant is an opportunity to address access to healthcare, a paradigm shift around how we deal with our health and a social justice issue in a way that is a really rare opportunity.

So now my new position is about working globally. It’s about social purpose globally. And it’s about patient advocacy globally. I’m just incredibly thrilled and I’m ready for the next decade. I’m ready to help the patients in the U.K. I’m ready to help the patients in Australia. I see Canopy as this unicorn; it’s an incredibly powerful economic machine that I get to ride around the world tearing down prohibition.

The legalization of recreational cannabis is not just about the right to get high; this is a social justice issue. It’s about access to healthcare. And it’s about righting a tremendous wrong that is creating so much harm around the world.

HL: Do you foresee a time when cannabis will be legalized worldwide?

HB: Well, I think that the whole globe is starting to move in bits and pieces. You know, we have medical regulations in Australia and in Germany and coming along in the U.K. And there are some countries in Latin America that are moving towards medical regulations. So I really feel like many countries around the world are starting to reform their cannabis regulatory framework. It’s not necessarily because the world is realizing that cannabis prohibition was based on lies and racism and that it’s a great wrong that has been done upon the world, but actually because there is a global economy emerging and now there are economic drivers pushing the evolution of the regulatory framework.

HL: You’ve stated that the current cannabis legislation is version 1.0. Was anything overlooked? Where do you believe we need to make adjustments?

HB: I’m thinking about First Nations. How are our First Nations communities going to benefit financially from this booming industry? I don’t have the answer to that question but that’s what I’m thinking about. I think that yes, we need more gender balance but of greater concern to me is how our First Nations are going to benefit. I think that the government has a bit of shifting to do around where the taxation and economic benefits from the industry are being spent. I would like to see that as something the government takes some action on. I also think about the disproportionate amount of marginalized and people of colour who have been incarcerated because of working in the cannabis industry. Not just about possession charges. So when the industry starts opening up in America, I want the whole industry to really have as top-of-mind prioritizing the employment and the retraining of marginalized and people of colour who have been incarcerated for working in the cannabis trade. I think that’s a great place of healing that’s needed. We need to make sure that the people who have been harmed by prohibition are part of the prosperity of a legal industry.

We need to make sure that the people who have been harmed by prohibition are part of the prosperity of a legal industry.

HL: Do you believe the “grey” market will ever really disappear?

HB: The point of legalization should be bringing everybody out of the dark and into the light. Hopefully we can bring all of the grey market into the legal market. But as long as the legal market is way more restrictive than the grey market, the grey market will always have an advantage—around packaging or advertising or marketing or potency of your edibles or all of these kinds of things. The answer is dependent on what happens with the evolution of the regulatory market. But I think more and more, people are really thrilled to get their cannabis—their medical cannabis and their cannabis for adult consumption—through legal, regulated channels. I was pretty excited the first time I ordered cannabis from a website operated by the government of British Columbia. That felt like a pretty momentous day.

HL: Let’s talk taxes. In Canada, prescription medications are not taxed and yet medical marijuana is subject to the same taxes as recreational. Why the disconnect?

HB: The tax courts, when challenged on this, have basically said that the legislation needs to be clarified. There’s this kind of loophole because cannabis is not an official prescription medication; it does not have a drug identification number. It’s accessed through the authorization program under the medical cannabis legislation. That’s how they’re continuing to tax it even though it’s technically not an over-the-counter medicine. I think it’s unjust to be asking critically and chronically ill Canadians to be paying sales tax on a medication that is not available over-the-counter, that is only available through the authorization of their physician. I believe it’s contrary to the spirit of the Excise Tax Act. Then they loaded basically what is equivalent to a “sin tax” on top of that. So it’s one of the places where it’s clear that we still have stigma around the legitimacy of cannabis as a medicine, otherwise we would not be taxing patients in this way. I have worked against these taxes for a very long time. It’s one of the few places where I feel patients’ needs weren’t properly protected as we went through the legalization process.

I think it’s unjust to be asking critically and chronically ill Canadians to be paying sales tax on a medication that is not available over-the-counter, that is only available through the authorization of their physician.

HL: You have always encouraged a more holistic approach to wellness. In addition to medical marijuana, the BC Compassion Club offers affordable natural healthcare services such as acupuncture, clinical counselling and clinical herbal medicine to name a few. How does cannabis work in synergy with these types of services? And what do you think of the new breed of “medibles”—therapeutic cannabis products combined with other medicinal herbs?

HB: Well, it’s a complicated question. In our apothecary at the Compassion Club, the only cannabis product that was in there was a topical one. Our clinical herbalists were not administering cannabis in compound herbal medicines. I would really have to take a look at the labels to give my judgment around if I have concerns or not about what those herbs are that are in there. Like if they need to be consumed with the support of a clinical herbalist. At the Compassion Club, I definitely believe for patients, cannabis, as a part of a comprehensive healthcare package, is what helps people with deeper healing. When people came in the door to try cannabis and then we got them seeing a counsellor, a nutritionist and a massage therapist, or an acupuncturist, that’s when tumours shrank and viral loads dropped and addictions were managed and trauma was healed. Cannabis was part of the toolkit. I wish everybody had access to combined healthcare services like that.

When it comes to edible cannabis products, I’m always very cautious about dosing. I don’t really know anybody other than Dr. Russo and Dr. Caroline MacCallum who produced a beautiful paper last year on dosing: MacCallum-Russo Practical Considerations in Medical Cannabis Administration and Dosing 2018. This is a place, when it comes to edibles, that we have to be so careful in making sure that people don’t have adverse events as they say on the medical side, or don’t have uncomfortable bad experiences. So that’s always my top-line concern when it comes to edible products.

Canopy Growth's softgel capsules are a popular format with patients new to cannabis. Photos: Canopy Growth

HL: Now that cannabis is legally accessible and the stigma is decreasing, are you witnessing more interest from elders seeking it for therapeutic reasons?

HB: There are so many more elders who are starting to use cannabis. When it comes to patients and elders making sure that their dosing protocols are starting off in such an incredibly mild and gentle place. One of the things that Canopy is doing that I’m super stoked on is the softgel capsules. Part of why we developed them was to get cannabis into long-term care facilities. In our culture, we store our seniors away in these long-term care facilities and there’s no way to get cannabis in unless it’s administered the same way other medications are. So we actually have a clinical trial running with a long-term care facility company in Ontario. It’s another place where we’re investing and gathering data and evidence to show the benefit of our seniors and elders having cannabis as part of their program. What often happens with seniors is polypharmacy. So they may be on a pain med, they might be on a sleep med, they might be on an anti-anxiety med. Often with seniors, if they’re using cannabis under the care and with careful communications from their physicians, they can slowly start self-titrating off some of those other medications. You know, with seniors there’s things we have to be really careful about watching out for like euphoria and the possible impairment from THC because we do not want our seniors having falls. The consequences from a fall can be devastating.

HL: You’re a kind of cannabis superhero. What do you do when you’re not breaking down prohibition and saving the world one patient at a time? How do you unwind and recharge?

HB: When I’m home and the weather’s decent, I go outside and let nature support me. I exercise as much as I can because I spend a lot of time in airports and planes. I have a beautiful nephew who I hang out with. And up until last summer, my answer would have been, My dog. I hang out with my dog and we go hiking, and we play and we goof. But I buried him in June. So now I steal my neighbour’s dog. I’m having a total love affair with a year-and-a-half-old Border Collie mutt named Jake from the neighbouring farm. Pretty much every morning he comes over to say hello. On Sundays, if I’m home, I take him for the day and we go hiking and hang out and snuggle and pretty much nothing makes me happy in the way that dogs do. The stress goes away. They are just pure love. Really nothing brings me pure joy like hanging out with dogs.

Do you find yourself sitting in your cubicle at the office, counting the seconds ‘til you can get home and spark up a rehumanizing spliff? Are you tempted to light one up on your lunch break, but worried that your unreasonable, abstemious boss will sack your hide for being high on the job? Well leave the worrying to others, and bring your weed to work, because here are six infallible ways to partake in the pleasures of pot at the office, without letting anyone onto the fact that you’re completely wrecked off your ass.

How to not look stoned in the cubicle Jungle

Disclaimer: The following article is for entertainment purposes only. Smoking weed at the office is never a good idea unless, of course, you’re a cannabis sommelier and it’s your job to smoke weed at work. The strategies listed below, although generally useful for functional potheads, should never be used to mask office cannabis consumption. In short, don’t be an idiot!

Do you find yourself sitting in your cubicle at the office, counting the seconds ‘til you can get home and spark up a rehumanizing spliff? Are you tempted to light one up on your lunch break, but worried that your unreasonable, abstemious boss will sack your hide for being high on the job? Well leave the worrying to others, and bring your weed to work, because here are six infallible ways to partake in the pleasures of pot at the office, without letting anyone onto the fact that you’re completely wrecked off your ass.

Excelerate your breath!

In case you haven’t noticed, weed stinks. A lot! If you’ve ever driven on a country road near a place where a skunk has sprayed and turned to your friend and brilliantly remarked, “Hey, it smells like weed, man!” then you know what I’m on about. And until some freaky nerd living in his parents’ basement comes up with a formula for odourless weed, smell shall continue to be one of the biggest obstacles in not seeming stoned. Who knows, your tight-assed co-worker might smell the sacred aroma of ganja escaping from your lips and think you are some kind of drug-headed loser. So brushing your teeth or chewing some gum after consuming will take you a long way towards seeming not stoned. Wash your hands with soap and water after lighting up. But be careful of washing your hands too much in a day—you will succeed in hiding your stoned-ness, but people may start to think you’re a little bit obsessive-compulsive.

If you can’t keep your head in the conversation for too long, try to pick up on key words, like “Yes,” “No,” “Why are you staring at me?” or “Can you please get out of my cubicle?”

React appropriately to things

Nothing will give away your high-ness as much as laughing hysterically like a caged bird after your co-worker asks you if you’ve seen her coffee mug, or crying like a kindergartener about how you miss your deceased grandpa after you hear a great joke about an old man, a duck, a German podiatrist, and nail clippers. Awkward silences happen, but try not to break them with your high-pitched squealing imitation of a seal copulating with a defecating monkey. Really concentrate and focus on what the other person is saying to you, instead of counting the freckles on the inside of their nostrils. If you can’t keep your head in the conversation for too long, try to pick up on key words, like “Yes,” “No,” “Why are you staring at me?” or “Can you please get out of my cubicle?”

Eye, eye captain!

“Why are your eyes so red, Anderson?” “I don’t know, Boss, allergies, I’m tired, I’m dying, leave me alone.” Starin’ someone right in the face with your eyes so red they’re practically bleeding is a sure-fire way to show you’re stoned. Shades are a good way of hiding those bloodshot peepers—a good way, that is, if you’re in the park on a sunny day, in which case you’re probably surrounded by people who care more about pulling off a killer hack trick or pounding their bongo into a monotonous state of coma than the fact that you’re baked. Eye drops work well, but putting drops into your own eyes is about as easy as filling your own cavities. If all else fails, just try not looking people in the eye. That way they won’t care about whether your stoned or not, they’ll just think you’re really socially awkward and leave you alone.

Low cheeseburger diet

Unless you’re about to go on maternity leave, ordering pizzas to your desk at 2:00 p.m. after you’ve just had lunch is a good way to let the office know you’re high. Try to limit your munchies to normally accepted human eating hours like lunch, dinner—all those socially restrictive times that have been set aside to control the masses and keep everyone following the same artificial rhythm, man! Avoid running through the office with starved, bulging eyes, licking the crumbs off people’s laps, sticking your head in garbage cans looking for a discarded Twinkie, and dipping urinal cakes into the year-old hummus in the fridge. Keep emergency snacks handy: a granola bar, veggie wrap, all-natural, sugar-free, organic wafers, cinnamon rice cake, or any such small, easily concealed, low-carb, protein-rich, conventionally trendy booster.

Get drunk!

There’s no real way to hide the fact that you’re drunk, and what better way to hide the fact that you’re stoned! No one will be able to notice that you smoked a joint after you’ve had 12 beers. Falling over desks and tables, reeking of Sambuka, screaming and rambling like an idiot about how you’re one true soul mate was your grade 2 teacher, puking in wastebaskets, and ordering liquid cocaine shots from the janitor are definitely not the behaviour of a pothead. Sure, your alcohol-loosened lips might let everyone in the office know about that wet dream you had last night about a certain co-worker of the same sex, but hey, they can’t fire you for homosexuality anymore. Alcohol is also legal, which makes it more okay in the eyes of the masses—take advantage of this loophole in the law! Cheers!

There’s no real way to hide the fact that you’re drunk, and what better way to hide the fact that you’re stoned! No one will be able to notice that you smoked a joint after you’ve had 12 beers.

Heads up!

No matter how clean-cut your hair, how well-ironed your shirt, how sweet smelling your breath, if you’re sitting in the corner of the room, in a sub-catatonic state, mumbling to yourself about how good the music that isn’t playing is, yelling at the computer screen to stop staring at you, colour-coding the contents of your desk while smiling at your co-worker in the cubicle next to you, crying about how your cousin wouldn’t let you play with her hamster when you were eight, seeing how far your snot can run down your face until it falls off, or spending the entire afternoon stuffing as many staples as you can into your bellybutton, people will guess that you are stoned. So be normal, speak at a reasonable tone and pace, drink out of your mouth and shit out of your ass, and for fuck’s sake, don’t mention weed, man!

In the Mondo Cane films, the world is truly going to the dogs. One day, Fido is sharing Master’s own plate, the next he’s the main feast. Oh, yes, “you’ll shudder and gasp in amazement.” The filmmakers soberly take the viewer on a perverse journey to the far reaches of the globe, but this is no National Geographic special. Far from it!

Documentary's dark underbelly

In the Mondo Cane films, the world is truly going to the dogs. One day, Fido is sharing Master’s own plate, the next he’s the main feast. Oh, yes, “you’ll shudder and gasp in amazement.” The filmmakers soberly take the viewer on a perverse journey to the far reaches of the globe, but this is no National Geographic special. Far from it!

As Mondo Cane sheds light on cultures and events rarely seen, it bewitches us into a strange psychological arousal as we witness increasingly bizarre scenes of everyday humanity.

Mondo Cane I and II, documentaries by classification, were directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi. The first Mondo Cane was released in 1962 and spawned a new genre of shock documentaries or “shockumentaries” as they came to be known. It can easily be argued that the genre eventually mutated into the reality TV shows we find ourselves tuning into with outward disgust and inward glee. Do series like My 600-lb Life and Little People,Big World really satisfy anything other than our primal need to stop-and-gawk? And if titillating television is what Mondo Cane gave rise to, the original circus freak shows and human zoos are most certainly where it all began. Indeed the directors are the first to admit that their goal was to make an anti-documentary in response to their revulsion at the prevalent Italian filmmaking style of the time known as Neorealism—a paired down approach that presented the world “as is.”

In the opening scene of Mondo Cane, the detached voice of the narrator states that all that will be presented is factual. As passive observers, we are lulled into believing that what we see is real. In fact, the opposite may be true. The film takes off at a mad pace, void of storyline, juxtaposing, and contrasting and stoking disbelief. The directors navigate the viewer through a world labyrinth of odd ceremonies, tribal rituals and extreme religious rites. As Mondo Cane sheds light on cultures and events rarely seen, it bewitches us into a strange psychological arousal as we witness increasingly bizarre scenes of everyday humanity. And just as we get comfortable on our exotic trip, disbelief kicks in. Wait, this can’t be real! The filmmakers admit to re-enacting certain scenes but are others pure fabrication? This smacks of reality TV with its planned situations and creative editing. Even veteran film critics aren’t sure which scenes are real and which have sprung from the directors’ fertile imaginations. Jacopetti and Prosperi do concede to alternating between extremely shocking scenes and more light-hearted ones in order to keep the viewer watching, rather than turning away.

The Mondo Cane films launched a new style of filmmaking that would eventually branch out in many directions from the gritty Mondo Horror style including Faces of Death (1978) to today’s “fake news” journalism.

With the stated premise of putting forth the “show of humanity itself,” the directors keep the audience squirming on the edge of their seats as they jump from one disjointed but related subject to another. In one scene from Mondo Cane I, the camera shows French women force-feeding geese to produce fois gras. The aloof narrator specifies that the practice is far more humane now that they no longer nail the geese’s feet to the floor of their cages. Skip to Tabar, where young virgins held in cages are “stuffed with tapioca until they reach at least 264 pounds” and are ready to be offered to the tribe leader. Did they say 264 pounds? How did this primitive tribe arrive at this very specific ideal weight to bear the big man’s offspring? The contrasting realities and dubious facts may make you wonder whether the filmmakers are mocking their audience.

But wait there’s lots more shock for your curious mind. Cut to the pig feast. The narrator emphasizes that the feast only takes place once every five years followed by a period of near famine. Sounds a little hard to swallow. And do the natives really use their nose jewellery as convenient toothpicks? Lucky for the children the feast includes a pick up game of soccer using the inflated pig intestines as a ball. “Someone remembered the children and didn’t eat all of the intestines.” Huh? Didn’t the narrator say there was a famine?

The film becomes more and more shocking, to the point of ridicule, as it progresses. Viewers are left utterly bewildered trying to connect the dots that may or may not be real. Yes, it’s social commentary. The filmmakers were talented and had guts, winning numerous awards for their films. But have we been duped and if so does it really matter as long as we get the message? The Mondo Cane films launched a new style of filmmaking that would eventually branch out in many directions from the gritty Mondo Horror style including Faces of Death (1978) to today’s “fake news” journalism. Check them out as part of your cinematic education but never stop asking yourself, Is this real?

Inspired by a little Disney mischief, Mason Spielman left a successful career in the flourishing cannabis industry to pursue his passion for woodworking. Along with the dust and splinters, he reconnected with his creativity and launched Rebel Wood.

Meet Mason Spielman, the rebel mind behind Rebel Wood

Heads Lifestyle: Let’s start with the name of your company, Rebel Wood. Do you believe every entrepreneur has a rebellious side?

Mason Spielman:In my experience, creative people have a more rebellious nature and tend to struggle more with authority. I don’t believe you need to be rebellious in a radical or irresponsible sense as the term may imply, but you definitely need to be brutally honest with yourself and learn to appreciate risk and uncertainty over structure and uniformity. Entrepreneurship is a very creative endeavour and above all allows me to be the master of my time and schedule, which is hard to obtain working for someone else. I’ve always had a very difficult relationship with institutions. I did well in school but I was often bored with the curriculum and felt overwhelmed with rules and restrictions. I never liked being told what to do, how to do it and when to do it. That anti-authoritarian nature followed me into my first job and subsequent jobs, and is ultimately what directed me towards entrepreneurship.

I’ve always had a very difficult relationship with institutions. I did well in school but I was often bored with the curriculum and felt overwhelmed with rules and restrictions.

HL: Your love of woodworking started in high school wood shop. What draws you to woodworking?

MS: It’s an amazing feeling, taking an idea or concept and giving it life in the physical world. Whether it’s cultivating plants, creating music, painting, writing a novel, or woodworking it’s all very therapeutic. Wood is such a versatile material and no piece is the same. Each species of wood has its own unique attributes. Once a project is finished and you stand back to admire what you’ve built it makes all the splinters, blisters and bruises worth it.

HL: Prior to launching Rebel Wood, you were working in the cannabis industry. Can you tell us about your experience there and what brought you to growing?

MS: I have always been fascinated by plants and after leaving the cabinetmaking trade I decided to go back to school to feed my curiosity on the subject. I received a degree in horticulture from a local agricultural college and upon finishing got involved in the cannabis industry. Prior to that I had only contemplated growing cannabis and had no real experience with this wonderful plant. I was an early employee at one of Canada’s leading cannabis producers and helped establish a lot of the cultivation practices there alongside a handful of other passionate colleagues. I soon became the facility’s Integrated Pest Management lead, and spent most of my day monitoring plants for pests and disease while implementing a biological program to control and prevent any unwanted bugs.

I was an early employee at one of Canada’s leading cannabis producers and helped establish a lot of the cultivation practices there alongside a handful of other passionate colleagues.

HL: With legalization, the cannabis space is really taking off. What prompted you to leave such a promising opportunity?

MS: After two years, I realized that things had changed in a big way and I didn’t want to be a part of it any longer. The mom-and-pop vibe of working for a startup had worn off for me and things headed off a cliff into the deep dark corporate abyss. It was a relief to leave a competitive and at times toxic work environment to pursue what I had always wanted to do—be creative and independent.

HL: Any advice for people interested in working in the cannabis industry?

MS: Just get your foot in the door. There are a lot of entry-level positions in the industry, especially when it comes to cultivation. Whether it’s harvesting buds, transplanting clones, or pruning plants, you can learn this stuff pretty quick. Most of the people who started at the facility I worked at had never seen a cannabis plant in their lives. Cultivators tend to overcomplicate it and it can seem overwhelming to get started, but they call it weed for a reason! It’s a very forgiving plant and anyone can grow it. If you’re going to get started with a big company just know that you’ll likely be doing repetitive tasks everyday and may not get to experience the full lifecycle from propagation to packaging and shipping. If you don’t think you’d fair well on an assembly line I would look at applying to smaller grow operations.

HL: As a firsthand participant in the Canadian legalization experiment, do you think we’ve got it right? Should the U.S. and other countries follow Canada’s lead?

MS: Canada has definitely made the right choice to legalize but it’s just the start. There is a lot of room for improvement in terms of fair pricing, meeting the high demand, expanding the range of products available, and standards on product testing and information. It’s a new frontier and it’s going to take time for all the kinks to be worked out. There’s no logical reason why other countries won’t follow suit and legalize this stigmatized plant. It’s about time the world shakes off the dogmas of the past generations and focuses on moving forward… but I’m preaching to the choir.

I think people like the concept because it’s kind of an inside joke. It’s a subtle nod to cannabis culture and no one else need be the wiser.

MS: I have Disney to thank for that. I came across a post online that had some clickbait title like “Ten things Disney doesn’t want you to know” or something along those lines. One of the entries was a picture from Puppy Dog Pals, a children’s show I had never heard of, and in the background of this image was a shelf in the shape of a LSD molecule. I guess one of the illustrators was bored and thought he’d have a laugh. I found that hilarious but also kind of cool. I wanted to see if you could actually buy something like that, but after scouring the Internet I found nothing. I sat on the idea for a while and when I finally got around to drawing up the design I decided to figure out how to build the THC molecule instead because of my background and I thought it would resonate with more people. Long story short, I’ve had a lot of positive feedback since I first posted the item on my Etsy shop and now I have gone on to created the CBD, LSD, and Psilocybin molecules. I think people like the concept because it’s kind of an inside joke. It’s a subtle nod to cannabis culture and no one else need be the wiser.

HL: How long does it take to construct one of the molecules?

MS: From milling down boards of walnut to shipping, it’s at least six hours of work. I’m working on making my process more efficient but there are no shortcuts to this without compromising the end result. I spend as much time as I need to make sure it’s something I am proud of putting my name on.

HL: Rebel Wood is based in Calgary. Do you feel a connection to the neighbouring forests of the Rockies?

MS: I’ve always had a strong connection to the diverse landscape out my backdoor. One-hour drive west and you’re in some of the world’s best hiking trails and camping spots and it’s a great escape from the dust and chaos of the shop.

HL: As a horticulturalist, do you have a greater respect for the living material you work with? Can you tell us about the wood you use in your craft?

MS: Canada has an abundant forestry industry and some great species to choose from when woodworking. I primarily use walnut because it’s easy to work with and produces a beautiful end result. I was as an arborist for a couple of years and have a lot of respect for the trees that give themselves to my craft. I understand that there is an environmental footprint with my work and I plan to align my practices with that in mind as I grow my business. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do with pallet wood while making high-end products.

HL: There’s a cannabis theme to many of your pieces. Does cannabis play a role in your creativity?

MS: I’ve always had an actively creative mind and come up with ideas regularly. I’ll usually have some cannabis after a long day to unwind and relax. Caffeine plays a bigger role in my work than anything else. I also can’t recommend operating a table saw after smoking a joint. Some hand-pressed espresso is my drug of choice while in the shop.

I’ve always had an actively creative mind and come up with ideas regularly. I’ll usually have some cannabis after a long day to unwind and relax.

HL: There is also a strong pop culture theme in your work, including Star Wars and comic books. Who would you dress up like for Halloween?

MS: I have found that having a full beard limits my costume choices. When I have dressed up in the past I’ve been a Viking, escaped convict, and a hobo… any suggestions would be welcome.

HL: We hear you also play guitar. How does this fit into your creative expression? Who inspires you?

MS: I’ve been playing guitar for most of my life. I got into metal and classic rock when I was young and it lead me to pick up the guitar and along with it a wardrobe of ill-advised band shirts and black jeans. I found a lot of confidence in being able to play as a kid and I guess that’s where I first began to have an appreciation for wood. I could spend hours a week picking up every axe on display at my local music stores and listening to the difference in tone each guitar made. I soon learned that the expensive guitars were hung at the top of the wall and sounded much better. They incorporated different exotic woods in the body and neck and it gave me a real appreciation for the craftsmanship. I don’t play as much as I used to but I find the same passion in working with my hands while in the shop. I’m usually listening to music of all genres or a Joe Rogan podcast to keep my brain active while working. I draw a lot of inspiration from the obvious famous entrepreneurs out there and people from all walks of life who have overcome some difficulty. I also gain inspiration from friends who are in a similar boat, carving a path in their own craft. It’s easy to get in your head when pursuing anything of worth so I try to flood my mind with as much wisdom from these people to help drown out the monkey mind that always seeks my attention.

Love 'em or hate 'em, stoner stereotypes have defined the culture. We’ve all known one, and some of us may have even been one in a not-too-distant past, the Earth Mama, the Radical, the White Rasta, the B-boy, the Dude or the Frat Boy. It’s okay to have a laugh especially when we’re making fun of ourselves.

They're funny because they're us

Love 'em or hate 'em, stoner stereotypes have defined the culture. We’ve all known one, and some of us may have even been one in a not-too-distant past, the Earth Mama, the Radical, the White Rasta, the B-boy, the Dude or the Frat Boy. It’s okay to have a laugh especially when we’re making fun of ourselves.

The Earth Mama

Might be really hot, and into free love. Either way, she’s easy, and identifiable from the telltale hippie scent that emanates from her inevitably hairy armpits (this particular odour is made up of a blend of herbal deodorant that—surprise, surprise—doesn’t work too well, and of course patchouli). She wears lotsa hemp and flowery sundresses (probably no undies so pay attention when she does cartwheels, or gets herself into a real frenzy spinning like a whirling dervish). Good possibility that she’s renamed herself, rejecting the tag thrust upon her by mom and dad in favour of something that more appropriately describes her spirit, such as Karmafield or Starburst. Regularly stoned off other people’s pot, she plays acoustic folk tunes inspired by her inner child that make us all wonder if maybe her inner child should have taken more lessons.

The Radical

This guy has a bunch of really brilliant ideas about how to fix the world’s problems and most of them involve having all world leaders smoke pot. He argues that if they just mellow out, man, then they, like, wouldn’t keep, like, doing animal testing in Bosnia, and, like, force people to work and pay tax and stuff. This guy loves Che Guevara, especially in those days where he was the badass junkie-manager for the MC5 and leader of the White Panther party. He tries desperately to organize protests at the local university, but keeps getting ejected by the campus security guards, because he’s too stoned to find his student ID card and prove that he’s not just some fucked up kid out on a day pass from the loony bin. The Radical tries in vain to get a group of like-minded revolutionaries to help him boycott McDonalds for righteous political purposes, but every time he brings up the idea, the subject changes to “How fuckin’outtasite it would be if we had some McNuggets right now!”

Pastimes: Protests, Rallies, Public disobedience

Sounds: Rage Against the Machine, Dead Prez, Ozomatli

Eats: Caffeine and Nicotine

Says: “We’re gonna stick it to the man!”

Radical Hall of Fame: Patty Hearst, Thomas Forçade

The White Rasta AKA “The Whasta”

Now, the White Rasta, of course, would have you believe that she’s in this whole thing for the love of Jah Rastafari, and she’s always willing to explain the philosophy and history of Rastafari. According to the White Rasta, the movement can be traced back to the time when Halie Sellasse first demonstrated to Bob Marley the proper method for rolling a spliff. Truth is, she once heard that Rastas can smoke da herb legally since it is an integral part of their religious philosophy, so she figures, Hey, if Babylon ever show up and try to bust me, I’ll scream religious persecution! Bambaclat! Let’s hope for her own personal safety that if she ever does make it to Jamaica, she doesn’t set foot outside of Club Med. She wears a Peter Tosh T-shirt to emphasize that she knows of another figure in the entirety of Jamaican culture other than Marley.

B-Boy

The B-Boy is very difficult to understand as he employs an ever-evolving vernacular incorporating the newest slang and wordplay to communicate the simplest of ideas. His threads, while a few sizes too large, are covered in pot leaf designs, and do a good job of outwardly expressing his love of da herb. While the ingestion of marijuana might put most people in a more relaxed state, the B-Boy is not susceptible to this most adverse side effect—quite the opposite, puffin’ root keeps him in a state of heightened readiness, and he can quickly anticipate incidents that will require his situational awareness and coordinated actions. These incidents include but are not limited to: being cut off by another driver on the road, disagreements over the merits of hip-hop artists, and people stepping on his new sneakers.

Pastimes: Graffiti, Spinnin’ and Getting jiggy

Sounds: NWA, The Beatnuts

Eats: Anything that can be supersized at the finest fast food joints

Says: “Yo-Yo” and “Bling-Bling”

B-Boy Hall of Fame: Vanilla Ice, Flavor Flave

The Dude

The dude says “dude” quite a lot, because it means so many different things, like “I’m really glad you just rolled that huge joint” or “How could you accuse me of hitting on your girlfriend, we’ve been pals since we were ten years old?” He flirts with veganism, digs Phish, loves the ladies and the ladies love him. He’ll smoke anything, anytime, any place, and, although he seems like he can surf, he doesn’t really have good enough motor skills. He’s usually standing on a slant, just kinda groovin’, wearing sandals on his blackened crusty feet. He often sports shades, but when you see his eyes, you can detect years of damage from staring at a 3-D poster of Jimi Hendrix in his basement. He still lives with his parents, but it’s cool, ‘cause they never come down to the basement.

Pastimes: Surf, Skate, Snow

Sounds: Phish, Long Beach Dub Allstars

Eats: Taco Bell, Count Chocola cereal, Poptarts

Says: “Dude” “Stoked” and “Bro”

Dude Hall of Fame: Jeff Spicoli, Pauly Shore, Keanu Reeves

Frat Boy

Beer is his drug of choice, but he loves weed because when girls smoke it after they’ve been drinking it transforms him into an intellectual super star. Never without his buddies, him and his buds use buds to get in that special zone where you can excel at important things like video games, beating up nerds, or thinking of awesome ways to break things. While the Frat Boy is willing to smoke from anything, he prefers turning the act of getting high into some kind of competitive game that will result in the loser throwing up all night or being sent to the hospital for detoxification.

Pastimes: Keggers

Sounds: AC/DC in public and The Smiths in private

Eats: Beer, KD, Pizza

Says: “Booya” and “Food Fight”

Frat Boy Hall of Fame: Bluto Blutarsky, The Alpha Beta jocks from Revenge of the Nerds

For many newcomers, edibles are an gentler introduction to the world of cannabis. Cooking with cannabis is an excellent alternative to smoking especially for mmj patients and microdosers. Cannabis butter is the culinary basic building block for a wide range of recipes from sweet to savoury.

Culinary Cannabis Basic Building Block

For many newcomers, edibles are a gentler introduction to the world of cannabis. Cooking with cannabis is an excellent alternative to smoking especially for mmj patients and microdosers. Cannabis butter is the culinary basic building block for all kinds of recipes from sweet to savoury. This simple-to-make and easy-to-use cannabutter is delicious on its own or as the basis for your favourite recipes. Follow our step-by-step instructions to make your first batch.

Salvia, GHB, cocaine, Xanax, speed, truffles, alcohol, MDA, ayahuasca, LSD, cannabis, lean, MXE, peyote, ecstasy, nitrous oxide. What do these have in common? The hosts of YouTube channel Drugslab have taken them all and invite you to watch. Is Drugslab a champion of illicit drug use or a cunning government educational program?

A viral approach to drug education

Sure, some drugs are bad. But the way we talk about them is far worse. And by talking, it’s safe to say we’ve mostly been tight-lipped on the issue altogether. Years of burying our heads in the sand have amplified the stigma surrounding all forms of drug use, not to mention disseminating misinformation. Simultaneously, there has been an unprecedented rise in drug use in many countries, costing governments billions of dollars annually. And, with the black cloud of the opioid crisis looming over the population at home and abroad, governments and laypeople alike are seeking solutions to stop and reverse the alarming situation.

Since 2016, the hosts of Drugslab, an educational YouTube channel, have been taking illegal drugs and inviting us to watch what happens next. Each week, one of the three hosts consumes a different drug—everything from cocaine to MDA, ayahuasca to Xanax—in order to instruct their audience on the safest way to take the drug, the right dosage and the associated risks. They also offer plenty of helpful dos and don’ts, as well as, stressing the importance of a safe environment and the presence of a trip sitter. But there’s a catch: the Netherlands’ government funds Drugslab in an effort to educate on dangerous drug habits. Designed to break down the taboo associated with drug use, Drugslab (and the Dutch government) do not turn a blind eye. Instead, the channel acts as a preventative measure, trying to limit the amount of accidental overdoses and serious addictions. Drugslab’s message is clear: do drugs if you please, but do so cautiously and know the associated risks.

Each week, one of the three hosts consumes a different drug—everything from cocaine to MDA, ayahuasca to Xanax—in order to instruct their audience on the safest way to take the drug, the right dosage and the associated risks.

The Netherlands’ government is the first of its kind to put into place this novel type of drugs education program but it is not without its critics. Many question whether the videos are worsening the problem rather than fixing it by encouraging experimentation. Others debate whether it’s a Band-Aid solution that ignores the larger societal problems.

The Netherlands has for years been far more tolerant of drug use than the rest of the globe. The capital, Amsterdam is known for its coffeeshops, where you can legally buy recreational cannabis. The country allows the personal use of “soft” drugs like marijuana in order to dissuade the population from using harder drugs like opioids. And, in 1988, the Dutch government started a heroin distribution program with the goal of minimizing the number of opioid deaths and assisting addicts with treatment by providing them with heroin instead of criminalizing their addiction. Since then, the number of deaths related to opioid overdose has stabilized.

So, this begs the question, should other countries follow the Netherlands’ lead? Have the Dutch found the solution to better drug policy and education? With the opioid epidemic happening concurrently with the legalization and widespread acceptance of cannabis in places like Canada and many of the states in the U.S., how we talk about drugs needs to be more nuanced than ever. Our approach to drug education must be without stigma and free from unrealistic targets. The War on Drugs’ “Just Say No” campaign was a foredestined failure. Raising its voice in a silent void, it’s no wonder that Drugslab would strike one as provocative and shocking. But with the stakes tethering between life and death, candid discussions about drugs are critical before it’s too late. And with upwards of 54 million views, Drugslab is setting a precedent as a quick, modern and wide-reaching method to do just that.

How to be the best you in a few easy clicks.

After the ball drops and the corks and confetti are swept away, many of us sit down to write a list of goals to better ourselves in the New Year. Fad diets are a bust and do you really want to quit smoking—again. So where to begin? Albert Einstein, once said, “I have no talent. I am only passionately curious.” So this year, why not try a different approach. Instead of focusing on shortcomings, let’s shift the attention to strengthening the most important muscle of the body: the brain. The catalyst of change is curiosity. And what better way to satisfy your curiosity than by learning something new.

The catalyst of change is curiosity. And what better way to satisfy your curiosity than by learning something new.

Enter YouTube, the video-sharing website met with equal parts criticism and praise. With 1 billion hours of YouTube videos watched daily, there is a plethora of fast, bite-sized information available. This is the gateway to building a new healthy habit—being more curious. Whether it’s making a dish from scratch as seen on your fave TV show or learning the ins and outs of quantum physics, you’re just a video (or two) away from being a more curious you.

Catch the learning bug with this non-exhaustive list of channels to help you navigate the oversaturated and sometimes intimidating digital world of YouTube. Covering a broad spectrum of tastes and skill sets, you’re certain to discover more as you go deeper. Whatever your cup of tea, if you are savvy and eager to learn, YouTube can teach you almost anything in a few clicks.

CrashCourse

CrashCourse is an educational channel hosted by brothers Hank and John Green (yes, the famous young adult author). The videos are, just as the eponymous name of their channel suggests, crash courses on a variety of topics. The Green brothers, along with invited experts, present speedy ten-minute-or-less episodes on subjects ranging from astronomy to psychology and everything in between. The brothers’ quick wit and clever approach breathe new life into challenging subject matter. Whether you’re a college student cramming for your next test or an adult learner wanting to know more, CrashCourse offers universal education to anyone willing to exercise a little brainpower. If science has always seemed daunting, head over to CrashCourse’s sister channel SciShow. Run by Hank Green, Michael Aranda and Olivia Gordon, it will have you reconsidering your deep-seated fear of test tubes and lab coats with videos chockfull of science concepts applied to everyday life.

Binging with Babish

Do you love food? Do you love movies? Do you love to eat food while watching movies? Do you love foodie movies? If you answered yes to any of these questions, look no further than Binging with Babish, a channel dedicated to recreating iconic dishes from your favourite movies, TV shows and video games. From crazy ambitious to downright delicious, watch Babish (filmmaker Andrew Rea) whip up a feast of dishes from SpongeBob’s Krabby Patties to Seinfeld’s babkas with dry humour and expertise.If you’re keen on learning basic recipes and kitchen techniques, Rea has a second channel, Basics with Babish, in which he presents a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to cooking with tips for the amateur chef.

Nerdwriter1

Nerdwriter1, the brainchild ofEvan Puschak, is an educational YouTube series. Its focus is 5-to-10-minute-long video essays on a range of subjects from film and music to comedy and language. Puschak, who declared he “woke up to learning,” dissects original topics to their core in each video. Highly engaging and brimming with fun information, Nerdwriter1 will have you curious about ideas you’ve never even thought of before, whether it’s why Bob Dylan won the Peace Prize to understanding Picasso’s art. Browsing the dozens of videos on the Nerdwriter1 channel, it’s nearly impossible not find one that sparks curiosity. Be warned, once you’ve discovered Nerdwriter1, chances are you’ll binge watch them all so plan to take the afternoon off. In your defence, you will be learning.

Mark Rober

Engineer Mark Rober worked at NASA for nine years where he spent most of his time creating the Curiosity Rover. What sets Rober apart from his stuffier science colleagues on YouTube is the delightful and entertaining nature of his channel. Rober credits his childhood hero, Kevin McCallister of Home Alone fame as his inspiration for overengineering some crazy inventions like the Glitter Bomb Trap. Inventive and ambitious, Rober’s videos are quite literally astronomical—he combines his limitless knowledge of science with crazy, dare-devilish stunts. Who says science can’t be fun?

Lessons from the Screenplay

Lessons from the Screenplay (LFTS), the YouTube channel created by filmmaker Michael Tucker and his team, takes a deep dive into your favourite movies and TV shows by way of the screenplay. Originally conceived to further the art and understanding of storytelling, LFTS is education disguised as entertainment. Grab some popcorn and relive your most beloved cinematic moments through LFTS’s fresh perspective. You won’t see Star Wars or Ghostbusters in the same way.

The youth will shine—Jamaica’s surf scene through the eyes of Billy Mystic.

Heads Lifestyle caught up with old friendsPatrick “Quashi” Mitchell, surf visionary and maverick Renaissance man and Billy Wilmot, the patriarch of Jamaican surfing to get an update on the evolution of Jamaica’s surf scene, the transformation of Jamnesia surf camp, the accession of the Wilmot kids, and a rundown on their latest projects for the little island in the sun.

The youth will shine—Jamaica’s surf scene through the eyes of Billy Mystic.

Heads Lifestyle caught up with old friends Patrick “Quashi” Mitchell, surf visionary and maverick Renaissance man and Billy Mystic, the patriarch of Jamaican surfing to get an update on the evolution of Jamaica’s surf scene, the transformation of Jamnesia surf camp, the accession of the Wilmot kids, and a rundown on their latest projects for the little island in the sun.

Heads Lifestyle: Quashi, are you still shaping surfboards for the local scene?

Quashi: I am now based in Florida and on occasion still shape boards for a select few. As for shaping boards for Jamaica, it’s been a while. Many of the surfers in JA have grown their skills so much that many are picked up by top tier surf shapers and big surf brands such as Hurley and Smith Optics, Freestyle, Electric, Body Glove and others. I consider it an honour to see them reach this level knowing where things were when I was sending surfboards home.

Billy Wilmot: It’s been years since I got a Quashi board! Ha! Ha!

Ivah Wilmot riding a modern fish shape. Photo: Ishack Wilmot

HL: The evolution of surfing follows the type of boards surfers are riding. What are they riding in Jamaica these days?

Q: With the level of surfing in Jamaica on top these days you see a lot of high-performance short boards. However, with better surfing comes experimentation. Kids are trying all sorts of boards and learning to rip on them. Then there are preferences. For example, if you watch Ivah Wilmot, he is riding fish, bigger boards, wider, fatter, and all kinds of odd shapes and ripping them just as hard as any short board.

BW: Most surfers are surfing boards donated by the VANS Positive Vibe Warriors surfboard drive which consisted of everything from 7'0" single fin Pipeline guns to 4'6" mini grom boards and literally everything in-between. The best rippers are on top industry brand designs.

As far as surfing, the kids have blown up. They are killing it and surfing at as high a level as anywhere on the planet.

HL: How has the Jamaican surf scene changed over the last 10 years?

Q: As far as surfing, the kids have blown up. They are killing it and surfing at as high a level as anywhere on the planet. More Jamaican surfers are travelling to places like California for stints of time, and Hawaii and other islands in the region.

BW: The kids have gotten really good!

Shama throwing buckets at Lighthouse

HL: Have there been any memorable swells?

BW: The best swells were the waves from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 when we had five solid days of double to triple overhead surf with light offshore winds. It was epic! Also in February of 2017 and 2018, we had solid swells and the footage that came from those days is insane.

The best swells were the waves from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 when we had five solid days of double to triple overhead surf with light offshore winds. It was epic!

Q: I remember the last time I went surfing at Lighthouse, no one else wanted to go. I was Jonesing to surf so I went out only to get hammered and pummelled. The kids today know these breaks like the back of their hands whereas I’ve gotten older and every swell at my age is memorable and historic!

BW: With the low crowd situation in Jamaica, there are not many reasons to go looking for new spots. Back in the 70s most spots were sought out and surfed. Only after like six weeks of continuous swells do people get fed up of surfing the same spot and decide to go out and ride the less frequently surfed spots. Because the waves are so good where we live and nearby, real surf exploration is still fairly rare.

Q: I have a list of spots I want to try but haven’t yet.

HL: Have any surf spots been wiped out by major weather events?

BW: Fortunately not.

Q: After the loss of the Zoo—man, that wave was so freaking perfect!—we don't want to lose any more. Trust me!

The Wilmots, First Family of Jamaican surfing. Photo: Ishack Wilmot

HL: How has Jamnesia surf camp evolved over the years?

B: Jamnesia is constantly evolving, little by little. Jamnesia now has 18 beds and tent and hammock space. And with the donation of 200 surfboards from the Positive Vibe Warriors, there are lots of boards for everyone.

The little plan Billy and I had to grow surfing and put Jamaica on the map years ago has gone well beyond what I could have imagined.

Q: Jamnesia has also blown up on the musical scale (pun intended). The Wilmot Family opened their home not only to surfers but also to musicians looking for a place to learn and perform. Live music nights are held regularly. Look online; you’ll be blown away by how many of today’s reggae greats have honed their craft on the stages of Jamnesia! I smile because the little plan Billy and I had to grow surfing and put Jamaica on the map years ago has gone well beyond what I could have imagined. Billy and his family have taken it so much farther. The Jamaican government should put a surfboard statue down at Half Way Tree in thanks.

Billy Mystic performs at one of many Jamnesia music nights. Photo: Ishack Wilmot

HL: After 10 years, who is Jamnesia's clientele?

BW: Mostly European surfers especially from Germany, but also lots of Americans, Japanese, South and Central Americans.

HL: Are there any new local pro surfers or standout surfers?

BW: The top surfers in Jamaica currently are the Wilmot brothers Icah, Ivah and Inilek, Elishama Beckford, Garren Pryce, Shane Simmonds and Ackeam Phillips. The top women are the Beckford sisters Elim and Esther and Imani Wilmot.

Q: I remember when I made the first boards for Billy and his kids. They were tiny little kids! And there was no one else around to make boards for.

Icah Wilmot—one of Jamaica's top surfers sharing a wave with his wife @sandycurlz

HL: Has surfing in Jamaica caught on internationally or is it more of a local scene?

BW: Jamaica can now boast a small but viable international surf tourism industry.

Q: Jamaicans are go-getters. Surfing is now embedded. At one point in time, we had to convince other Jamaicans that there were surfers on the island. Now, everyone knows and recognizes the surfers. Years ago, I remember telling my uncle who owns a well-known hotel on the island about what Billy and I were up to and he was like, Ok, sounds good (smirk inserted). A few years later, he was driving by the Palisadoes where the Jamaica Surfing Association was hosting an event and he called me in Florida to say, What the heck is going on out there? You guys have a HUGE crowd and cars everywhere. I just laughed.

At one point in time, we had to convince other Jamaicans that there were surfers on the island. Now, everyone knows and recognizes the surfers.

HL: Are there any new surf schools?

BW: Jamnesia is the only official surf school but private lessons are given by a number of surfers on both the north and south coasts. Jamnesia has seen a major increase in learn-to-surf clients over the past two years.

BW: Not yet but Quashi is intending to start producing some dope fins and surf accessories out of Jamaica next year.

Q: Yes, the Quashi International brand is still alive. Billy has always had the desire to create a local industry and we have been looking at ideas that can be viable on the island and help grow the brand. Clothing was already a small part of the Quashi International brand but this round it will be bigger. People love so much about Jamaica—the surfing culture, the music, Rastafari and all that we live and breathe every day. This is what the Quashi International brand is about—truly living the culture. We used to have a slogan—Your Caribbean Culture Brand—on some of our shirts. Surfing and surfboards are only one aspect of what we do.

Quashi International custom surfboard model card. If you fill out one of these, good things soon come.

HL: What is the future for Jamaica surf?

BW: Well, the kids getting better and better, and an increase in surf visitors. We are seeing more Jamaicans with meaningful sponsorship deals. Jamaica is planning to attend all major competitions including the coming Olympics. Jamaican surfing products to the world! Quashi International to the world!

Q: Jamaica is the type of place that people gravitate to. They are either mystified by its culture or they embrace it wholeheartedly. Either way most will come and see for themselves what this place is all about. Jamaica will continue to be loved. Jamaica’s future is great. Surfing is the same—once you surf, you’re hooked.

Jamaica is the type of place that people gravitate to. They are either mystified by its culture or they embrace it wholeheartedly.

As for what is in the future for Quashi, the man? Nuff things! I am playing bass in a new roots reggae band called 1 Tribe Band. I also have a ton of side projects in the works, including starting my own financial services business, a cannabis business and, of course, Quashi International will be coming forward soon with new products. With Billy onboard, it’ll be sooner rather than later.

Click here to read the original article by Patrick “Quashi” Mitchell published in Heads Magazine on the history of Jamaican surfing.

One Eleven Heavy are finding the perfect pocket of vibe in an eclectic mix of influences

Music makes everything better. That’s why One Eleven Heavy are getting heady, tuning out consciousness and letting the jam take them. Inspired by the Dead, entranced by Santana, the fiercely authentic One Eleven Heavy are saving the good times for us all.

Music makes everything better. That’s why One Eleven Heavy are getting heady, tuning out consciousness and letting the jam take them. Inspired by the Dead, entranced by Santana, the fiercely authentic One Eleven Heavy are saving the good times for us all.

Heads Lifestyle: Your new album is called Everything’s Better. Is that how you feel?

Nick Mitchell Maiato: I guess so. Music makes everything better. That’s kind of the point. While the world’s machinations divert us all toward self-blame and over-sensitivity so that we don’t really ever get to engage meaningfully with anything beyond whatever is trending on Twitter that day, I feel that rolling back the rug and getting into some goodtime jams is one of the only things left that makes you feel like you’re still real. Know what I mean? What I think we’re saying as a band is that, moment to moment for most of us, it’s not as bad as social media would have us believe as we scroll through constant political horror and, now that the news doubles up as our social lives, it’s important to pick your battles and enjoy life in between feeling terrible about how it’s all turned out and working out if there’s anything you can do about it.

I guess the album title works as a kind of tongue-in-cheek joke about the state of things. We don’t really think we’re saving the world from over-stimulation and political ennui. I’m actually surprised we haven’t had any haters come along and say, Yeah, everything’s better than this record (laughs). The title actually came from a lyric in the tune Zygo Grip, that says, “everything’s better when you like to smoke hash,” and that’s about how a little herbal help can have the same sort of impact. Like, it’s not escapism; it’s actually a conduit to differentiate between the meta-world and what’s actually there in front of your nose or between your ears. It’s about getting older and learning to cope—welcome the change as it flows along your laugh lines, you know?

I feel that rolling back the rug and getting into some goodtime jams is one of the only things left that makes you feel like you’re still real. Know what I mean?

HL: Tell us about the background of the various band members and how you came together.

NMM: James Toth and I have known each other for years, via the international underground and sub-underground, and we got along so well and shared such a similar musical trajectory (at least in terms of taste), that it totally made sense to make music together. The way Toth tells it, I called his bluff. “Let’s write some songs.” We wrote some songs. “Let’s make a record.” We made a record. “Let’s go on tour.” We went on tour. He was just repeatedly surprised that I kept pushing it through and has kind of semi-passively gone for it because I think he’s a bit tired of the industry machine and just likes the idea of being one of the songwriters and musicians and not necessarily participating so much in the whole marketing drive. He’s like, I’m along for the ride! And that’s how we’re treating it. It’s the only vehicle he and I are really working on right now, respectively, so it comes before everything else for us.

We built the band around this idea of making goodtime music and so we invited a few rockers in. Dan Brown was the bass player with all the mad, slinky runs on three of the most overtly rock-ist Royal Trux LPs (Thank You, Sweet Sixteen and Pound For Pound) and he was sort of the linchpin who made One Eleven Heavy into more than just an idea. You know, once Dan was in, it felt like a band in the classic sense. Hans Chew is an old pal of James’s from New York and I already knew his wife Melodie (aka Connie Acher) as I put out her last LP. So we both knew he’d be the perfect piano player. He’s got that rolling style down and he’s like our very own Leon Russell—huge presence, personality and voice. Adam Kriney is a drummer who came to us via Hans, but who James already knew because he’d put out an LP by his older project, La Otracina. He’s super intuitive, sensitive, enthusiastic and maniacal like every good drummer should be. He’s not on the record; the recording was done with Ryan Jewell on drums, who’s also still very close to the people in the band, but a very busy dude who couldn’t ultimately commit to it as an ongoing concern. Adam stepped right up and really made his presence known right away and did an incredible job of taking the music into some new places on the road.

HL: What are the common threads/influences that informed the music you've created?

NMM: The van stereo on tour told us a lot about common influences. Namely, that they are many. Mostly obscure psychedelic and classic rock from the 1970s with some free jazz and contemporary underground shit in there. We all learned a lot from each other. I was playing the guys Triana and Chango. Our Manager, Scott McDowell, was blasting the new More Klementines record. We were all ploughing into various Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead bootlegs and comparing notes on those. We all agreed that Coltrane’s Ascension wasn’t really ‘van music,’ and plumped for Ole instead. The average age of the band is roughly 43, so our tastes are rooted in the fact that the underground was just going overground around the time we came of age and, also, we’ve all listened to a lot of music in the intervening years. We played everything from Mountain Movers to Gordon Lightfoot on that trip. Some really good van times, overall, especially Dan Brown’s ‘possession’ by a half-breed Orson Welles/Brian Blessed character he invented, who ran a commentary of everything that happened on the road. We were also pretty closely bonded on the way to Philly from Richmond, VA when we were hit at 80 mph by a drunken house painter that ran us off the road and nearly killed us. That kind of thing brings you closer together.

The van stereo on tour told us a lot about common influences. Namely, that they are many. Mostly obscure psychedelic and classic rock from the 1970s with some free jazz and contemporary underground shit in there.

HL: Do you feel there’s a direct lineage between what the Grateful Dead were doing as a band and what you’re doing?

NMM: We’d be crazy to deny that the Dead inspire us, though I’m, of course, wary of this recent Zeitgeist that’s unfurling. I play with a clean tone most of the time and we like to stretch out the songs and jam them out and that’s developing as we play together more. I love Santana, too, you know, and I think that whole sustained Dorian mode thing comes through just as much. We play some sloppy rockers like the Stones. There are lots of influences running through the music. What’s interesting about the Dead for all of us, though, is the way transitions work; how to find your way from a jam into a song via close listening and using motifs as cues. We’re not there, yet, as we all live so far apart and don’t get to jam except on tour, but I’m hoping that we’ll keep this thing going for as long as we can and keep developing the way we all interact with one another.

HL: Does the modern music industry make it difficult for you to remain authentic?

NMM: If, by authentic, you mean poor and unable to make a living out of this, then I’d say the modern music industry makes it really easy to remain authentic. If you showed Woody Guthrie my bank balance at the end of this November tour, he’d write a song about it.

I feel the modern music industry is more focused on technology than it is on actual sounds, so it seems like we’re operating kind of in spite of it, even while we slot into a small corner of it by necessity. All I know is that we grew up with a certain set of aural signifiers and that they have helped to define us as adults. So what we’re doing as a band is just, you know, continuing that. It’s the folk tradition, really.

We took some lollypops and gummies on the road with us and they helped to set us into that perfect pocket of vibe where you’re not so baked that you can’t be bothered to move your fingers but are just heady enough to tune out of pure consciousness and let the jam take you.

HL: To what extent does cannabis play a part in the development of your music?

NMM: We actually have two people who’ve struggled with addiction in our band and, whilst each of them has chosen his own individual path to sobriety, the one thing they have in common is that neither imbibes anything stronger than a cough drop. So the relationship with weed is a precarious one as the other three—and I count myself among them—do like to partake, but we also feel it’s important to support our friends’ respective lifestyles. Edibles are the most considerate way to achieve balance between everyone’s individual needs as you’re not huffing smoke in anyone’s face and, anyway, I’m cripplingly asthmatic so I had to finally quit smoking about a year ago. We took some lollypops and gummies on the road with us and they helped to set us into that perfect pocket of vibe where you’re not so baked that you can’t be bothered to move your fingers but are just heady enough to tune out of pure consciousness and let the jam take you.

All rock music is indebted to marijuana usage, so I’m not sure there’s much new that I can really add, other than to say that I don’t think any of us would be here doing this if someone hadn’t decided to stuff that bud in a pipe and see what happened if you sucked in the smoke. But I do think we live in amazing times in terms of society’s general attitude toward it and the continually developing ways of consuming it. I wish England were half as progressive as Canada in terms of its attitude toward weed. I guess, once the U.S. fully relaxes federal law, we’ll follow suit. I’m at least happy that we finally made medical marijuana legal, but even that is heavily regulated. The one thing I hate about U.K. cannabis culture is that you have to call a guy who comes out, then go sit in his Mercedes in your slippers in front of your house and hand him £20 and make awkward small talk. There’s no dignity to it. And I’m very envious of those global cultures that have been handed back their dignity. I could always move, I guess, which is what I’ll probably end up doing, anyway.

One Eleven Heavy's debut album "Everything's Better" is available now at Kith & Kin Records

Born from the passion of snowboarding, inspired by the love of dank, and with the utmost respect for the natural world, Tim Foley launched Uncle Stanky’s Dank Wax in 2016. Since then, he’s been going faster, smelling sweeter and always looking to make a better wax. Heads Lifestyle talked to the Uncle himself about his novel products and exciting projects.

Born of the passion of snowboarding, inspired by the love of dank, and with the utmost respect for the natural world, Tim Foley launched Uncle Stanky’s Dank Wax in 2016. Since then, he’s been going faster, smelling sweeter and always looking to make a better wax. Heads Lifestyle talked to the Uncle himself about his novel products and exciting projects.

Heads Lifestyle: So why wax? How did it all come to be?

Tim Foley: I used to experiment with different formulas on my own boards. I got burned out on most of the garbage wax that the big online retailers sold. A lot of your more popular waxes are made of 90% paraffin, which is easy to apply and easy to scrape, but doesn’t last long or work well. Paraffin is cheap and large manufacturers make a ton of money selling their wax. For fun, I used to make up test batches just to see what I could do. I wanted something faster, longer lasting, and better for the environment. I started working with hemp oil two years ago. I won’t get into the exact ingredients; I’d like to keep them a trade secret for now. Once I discovered what worked, I couldn’t wait to get people riding my product. I gave away so much in the first year, I practically put myself out of business. In the second year, everyone that I gave free wax to came back to buy more.

Uncle Stanky's Sour Diesel scented All Temperature Wax

HL: What came first? Snowboard wax, skating wax or lip balm?

TF: The snowboard wax came first. I built my website and started selling the wax in 2016. Not too long after that, my wife came up with the idea to start making the Hemp lip balm. We decided to make the lip balm with the best ingredients that we could use. The lip balm is SPF 15, it contains: beeswax, organic hemp oil, vitamin E, lanolin, coconut oil, sunflower oil, paraffin, and 100% pure all natural flavors. The skate wax came last. Basically, I was bored during the summertime, so I decided to start that project.

I used to make up test batches just to see what I could do. I wanted something faster, longer lasting, and better for the environment.

HL: What were some of the legal or regulatory hurdles you’ve faced in choosing to manufacture your waxes with hemp oil?

TF: The trademark registration was sort of a difficult process because of the marijuana leaf on the logo. I went back and forth with the attorneys for about six months just to complete the trademark logo application process. Then I had to reassure the United States Patent and Trademark Office (in writing) that I would not sell any products with actual active ingredients like THC or CBD.

TF: From a manufacturer in Canada called Dr. Adorable Inc. It’s 100% pure, unrefined, and organic. It’s a great product.

I like to tell people that smoke starts to come off the bottom of your board when you’re going really fast.

HL: Is there any THC in Uncle Stanky’s Dank Wax products? How often do you get asked if it can be smoked?

TF: That’s funny. No, there is no measureable amount of THC in the wax products. People jokingly ask that pretty often, “Hey man, can I smoke it?” I like to tell people that smoke starts to come off the bottom of your board when you’re going really fast.

HL: What about the research and development? Do you personally test the products?

TF: In the beginning I did all of the research and development myself. A few of the places that I personally tested the different waxes were Big Bear spring slush and 80 degree temps (Ultra Warm Wax), some seriously deep pow in Utah with, like, 2 degree temps (Ultra Cold Wax), and I tested the All Temp Wax just about everywhere that I have ridden. Now I have team members in the U.S. and Austria who provide most of the feedback. They’re much better riders and I trust them to take the wax to its limits so that we can continue to improve our products in every way possible.

HL: Hemp is definitely more eco-friendly than many of the more traditional ingredients used in snowboard waxes. What are some of the nastier aspects of non-hemp-based waxes?

TF: I’m glad that you asked that question. This is something that I feel very strongly about. Fluorinated ski waxes have now been found to be much more dangerous than we had first thought. New scientific research suggests that ski wax can expose users to perfluorochemicals (PFCs) that build up in their bodies and may carry potentially serious health risks, including cardiovascular disease, liver damage, hormone disruption and cancer. That isn’t really a risk that I want to take just to wax my boards. Snowboarding is meant to be fun, and that doesn’t really sound like fun to me.

The first and most important advantage is that it just makes a fast product, plain and simple.

HL: In addition to being more eco-friendly, what are some of the other advantages of hemp-based wax?

TF: Well, the first and most important advantage is that it just makes a fast product, plain and simple. The second advantage is that it lasts longer than anything else on the market. You can go riding three or four times before you even need to think about re-waxing your board. And last but not least, the smell when you are waxing your board is awesome. The Ultra Cold Wax is Blueberry Kush scented, the All Temperature Wax is Sour Diesel scented, and the Ultra Warm Wax is Strawberry Amnesia scented. It just makes the chore of waxing your board more fun.

HL: Is there a significant difference between the snowboard wax, skate wax and lip balm?

TF: Yes, they are vastly different products made up of completely different ingredients. The only thing that all of them have in common is hemp oil. I mean, you could try waxing your snowboard with the lip balm, but I don’t think that would work very well. It would definitely make your board taste great though.

TF: Blueberry Kush, Sour Diesel, and Strawberry Amnesia are my all-time favourite strains. They’re classics. Anyone that knows anything about marijuana knows these strains. In the beginning, I would have my friends check out the scents to see what they liked. They were my Guinea pigs. They dug it.

HL: Tell us a little about the Uncle Stanky’s team.

TF: Sure, there are three riders in Austria: Fabian Fraidl @fabianfraidl, Christian Kirsch @oldirtykirschi, and Natalie Millman @itsallaboutnatiii. In the U.S. we have Cameron Hamilton @mtbakersoftcore and Kaite Bland @kayteebee_ . They are all incredibly talented riders, some specializing in parks and street riding and some specializing in big backcountry powder action. I really can’t say enough about them. You need to go to our website at unclestankys.com and check out the team page or go to their pages listed above. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Uncle Stanky's Team Rider Kaite Bland with a tail grab. Photo: Peter day

HL: Is there a real Uncle Stanky?

TF: Yes, my nephew used to call me that when we were young punks smoking some dank, surfing, and hanging out at the beach in Oxnard, CA. We had a lot of stanky fun during that time.

HL: What’s next for Uncle Stanky’s?

TF: Well, we will be changing our packaging to be a little more attractive for retail. By November, we will be using new molds with the Uncle Stanky’s name engraved on the rectangular wax bars and plastic clamshell packaging, complete with our UPC codes. I would also like to mention some of the projects our riders are working on. Check out the Spot Hunt Street Snowboarding series on YouTube. Fabian and O.D.K. are involved in that one. Also, look for the upcoming Follow Cam series with Cameron Hamilton. That will be kind of a backcountry follow cam/variety show. You will find that starting November 3rd at @followcamham. Look for Kaite Bland in the USASA contests this year. She took a second at the 2018 National Championships. Watch for Natalie Millman to set the Internet on fire with her dope riding skills and crazy good looks. Other than that we plan on doing a lot of snowboarding and keeping it Stanky!

Cultivating empowered women through cannabis

As the first permitted cannabis farm in California, Blessed Coast Farms has stepped out of the dark and into the light. Siobhan Danger Darwish, who runs the farm and spearheads the Grow Sisters, took a moment from farming to satisfy our curiosity about what it is like to be a legal cannabis cultivator.

Heads Lifestyle: Siobhan "Danger" Darwish, can you tell us about the Danger part of your name? There must be a story.

Siobhan Danger Darwish: Oh, everything is more fun with a little element of Danger, you know.

HL: How did your relationship with cannabis, in particular cultivating, first start?

SDD: My relationship with cannabis has been an absolute love affair since I was a child. I grew up watching my father tend his plants and at a very young age I learned to speak the language of cannabis. My first memory of the immense love I feel for cannabis was around eleven years old. As a preteen I began to feel the stress of growing up in an intense world and remember wanting to help in the garden to escape the outside world. My father often put me on watering duty where holding a hose was the main job. This became a meditation for me and I still feel that in my garden today.

My father often put me on watering duty where holding a hose was the main job. This became a meditation for me and I still feel that in my garden today.

HL: As the first farm in the state of California to be awarded an official permit to cultivate cannabis, what kind of pressure do you feel to set a precedent, do it right and pave the way for the industry?

SDD: As the first permitted cannabis cultivation site in Humboldt County, which is also the first county in the state of California to issue these permits, Blessed Coast Farms has been gifted the honour of setting a precedent. Our farming methods are not only sustainable but ethical as well. On Blessed Coast Farms, we plant directly into the native soil. We amend our soil and use only compost tea. We have never used any synthetic or bottled nutrients. Our family farm focuses on cultivating high quality craft cannabis and we are proud that we have been recognized for our sustainable practices. Being the first permit, we are honoured to pave a sustainable path for the industry that supports family farms, because that is what Humboldt County was built on. I personally felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my community once we started posting about our lives on social media. More farms felt comfortable to proceed with the legalization process and share their farming practices. Social media has created a platform where consumers can research where and from whom they purchase their cannabis. The pressure we felt to set a precedent has become the best transparent way to showcase our farm and who we are.

Photos: Hannah Gart

HL: Prior to legalization, growing cannabis was notoriously stealth and hush-hush. Grow Sisters seems to be flipping the script on the old ways. Why have you chosen to take this approach?

SDD: Grow Sisters has certainly flipped the script! We are celebrating stepping out of the dark and into the light by telling our story, communicating our passion, and expressing our newfound freedom on social media. Freedom is sharing our lives and cultivation knowledge on such a large platform! I spent my life hiding in fear and not telling anyone what my family did. Now we can celebrate the medicinal herb that we love and believe in. We took this approach because we have knowledge to share and the platform to do it. By spreading our cultivation knowledge, we hope to encourage our viewers to grow their own medicinal cannabis. If our viewers are not able to grow their own cannabis, they can still watch where and how their cannabis is being grown. When Grow Sisters Flower is purchased it comes with a story, a farmer, and an education behind the medication.

HL: What elements of black market farming have proven to be still useful as a fully licensed cultivator? What are some of the old ways that you've had to shed?

SDD: Elements of the black market that have proven to be useful now as a licensed cultivator really span in so many directions! As black market farmers, we had to quickly learn to adapt to make each harvest happen. Factors such as location, funding, and water source were always pieces we had to work at getting to fit correctly. The cannabis black market was much like Ninja training. Seventeen seasons of cultivation has certainly given us a head start. The black market sharpened my negotiation skills and now working with contracts versus dirt road handshakes has certainly made things easier. One of the larger reasons we decided to go legal was to end the old black market farming practices. Most were not clean, sustainable, or ethical and we were ready to see the change happen.

The black market sharpened my negotiation skills and now working with contracts versus dirt road handshakes has certainly made things easier.

HL: Your business sense, in particular your social media game is strong. How do you see social media’s role in terms of building a cannabis or cannabis-related brand?

SDD: The birth of Grow Sisters in 2017 was fuelled by the longing to educate others about cannabis growing and our Humboldt lifestyle behind the Redwood Curtain, while providing Blessed Coast Farms with free marketing through the rising popularity of cannabis. But we soon discovered that after hiding our entire lives; Grow Sisters was the liberation from our childhood fears! Finally a way to join in and celebrate and normalize cannabis with the world! Through Grow Sisters, we have really enjoyed sharing our lives and cultivation knowledge. Social media’s role in building a cannabis brand is huge! Legalization’s momentum has created a transparent marketplace. We see this carrying through in social media. Consumers want to know where and from whom their cannabis is coming. What are their ethics? What are their farming practices? Consumers are now able to not just know their farmer, but also see how the product is being grown. Cultivators are being held to much higher standards through legalization, which has created transparency. When a consumer purchases Grow Sisters Flower they know it's from a sustainable farm and can be assured of its purity.

Photos: Hannah Gart

HL: You seem very comfortable being the face of Blessed Coast Farms and the modern female cannabis entrepreneur. Have you always been centre stage? Were you an outgoing kid?

SDD: It is a massive honour to finally legally share my legacy. I celebrate the attention and am humbled daily to still be here as a small farmer. I have not always been centre stage on a stage this big! Maybe the goofball stage with my friends as audience, but not like this. Growing up it was bad to draw any attention to yourself or our business. I have always been outgoing and now I can share my weirdness with the world!

HL: Grow Sisters is by no means a one-woman show. Who’s on your team and what unique skills or characteristics do they bring to the table?

SDD: Last season, I launched Grow Sisters with the help of my biological sister Sloan Reed, as a way to market our farm. The recent change in legal age to be on a cultivation site means my sister cannot work on the farm this season. Since then the Grow Sisters have "grown" to represent an association of women coming together to support female empowerment in all forms. We realized the importance that education plays towards achieving this goal, so Grow Sisters decided to plant a new sisterhood for this season. The Grow Sisters Season 2: Sister Grow Your Own Summer Project is dedicated to helping sisters cultivate the many aspects of this medicinal and recreational plant, blooming a larger sisterhood that expands beyond cannabis farming and providing a richer and more robust foundation for true female empowerment, in both plant and person, both online and in product and service!

Those being our stated objectives, Grow Sisters is currently a one-woman show. Though I do have the support of my community and sponsors of the Sister Grow Your Own Summer Project.

Photos: Hannah Gart

HL: You mentioned that your previous venture—a skin care boutique—was essentially put out of business when a big block retailer moved into your town. It’s no secret that big pharma is taking a huge interest in the cannabis industry. Do you anticipate a similar threat to cannabis farming? What can you and other small to mid-sized farmers do to protect yourselves?

SDD: Yes, I owned a skin care boutique called Lady Luxx and I was put out of business by a large block retail store. We see this happening in the cannabis industry with big pharma and this was a major reason for launching Grow Sisters. Through education we create conscious consumers who ask the right questions about the products they purchase. Questions like: Who grew this? What are their farming practices? And, Is this a cultivator I want to support? I feel the cannabis industry has the momentum to flip the script on big pharma with conscious consumers using their purchasing power to take a stand against generically produced cannabis. This is the age of the conscious consumer, the farm-to-table movement and knowing your farmer. Through continued consumer education and transparency other family farmers will strive in an industry that truly belongs to them.

I feel the cannabis industry has the momentum to flip the script on big pharma with conscious consumers using their purchasing power to take a stand against generically produced cannabis.

HL: Where would you like to see the cannabis industry in 5, 10 years?

SDD: Currently, the cannabis industry in California is quite the rollercoaster. In five years, it would be wonderful to see the foundation of the cannabis regulatory structure become secure in supporting craft farmers. By this time groups like the Cannabis Certification Council (https://cannabiscertificationcouncil.org) will have established the quality bar for clean cannabis and their education efforts will have reached consumers. Educated consumers will know what is in their medicine and where their cannabis is coming from.In ten years, we will have a system in place where all patients in need can access clean, affordable cannabis.

Photos: Hannah Gart

HL: When you aren’t lovingly tending your plants and your social media followers, what keeps you busy? Do you have any passions or hobbies?

SDD: Thanks for asking! I love my horse, dogs, and cat. My animals keep me very busy and bring so much joy to my life. I also enjoy dirt biking and surfing whenever I can get off the farm!

HL: Got any pet peeves, cannabis-related or other?

SDD: My biggest pet peeve is dirty cannabis cultivators. Unfortunately even permitted farms are still cultivating just for the money and not for the medication. Farming practices using mass amounts of plastics or synthetic chemicals need to stop. This is why it is so important to research your farmer. Social media is a fantastic place to start. Social media pages with no photos of gardens or the faces of the farmers usually mean they are hiding something. You really need to question their practices. Find farmers you can really trust and love to grow your cannabis.

Unfortunately even permitted farms are still cultivating just for the money and not for the medication.

HL: Who do you look up to, find inspiration in or strive to be like?

SDD: I have a major love for Alexis Bortell. Her story and strength have been a huge inspiration. Alexis is a 12-year-old girl who is spearheading a campaign to legalize medical cannabis across the United States. She and her family had no choice but to move from their Texas home to Colorado to treat her severe epilepsy. Now, her family and a handful of others are suing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). I admire her and her family in their efforts to help others with epilepsy. Grow Sisters is a sisterhood of women contributing to the many facets of the cannabis revolution and Alexis is a true Grow Sister.

The Heads journey continues

“You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later.” – Mitch Hedberg

What it was.

In the tea pads of the Jazz Age, mota was the cat’s meow. The ‘40s Hepcats dug their reefers and the ‘50s Beatniks were hip to the hap. Hippies got high on grass until it was declared public enemy number one. Fearmongering PSAs took over the ‘70s and ‘80s airwaves with anti-drug rhetoric. Clandestine grow-ops and the fight for legalization dominated the narrative.

By the 1990s, a new pop-culture was emerging. Hip-hop was lighting up and influencing the mainstream. The next generation didn’t want to be part of the resistance; they just wanted to get stoned. Preferably, on the best weed money could buy. Medical marijuana was making inroads with historic Prop 215. The winds of change had begun but who was going to represent the modern cannabis movement?

A new cannabis voice.

Enter a group of highly dedicated, creative, functional potheads who loved music, art, food, sports, the environment, innovation, science, travel—and cannabis. Launched in 1999, Heads Magazine offered marijuana enthusiasts a new space. It created a modern aesthetic reflecting the major cultural shift that was taking place across North America. Heads Magazine was at the forefront of expounding cannabis as an integral part of an overall happy and healthy lifestyle.

Launched in 1999, Heads Magazine offered marijuana enthusiasts a new space. It created a modern aesthetic reflecting the major cultural shift that was taking place across North America.

Independently stoned

Operating out of a converted 100-year-old house in a sleepy Canadian town, the pocket-size staff at Heads toiled away to create a magazine that upheld an all-embracing style of living. Sometimes serious, often silly and always entertaining, Heads Magazine embodied this belief and offered a friendlier side to weed.

With unrestricted latitude, Heads addressed the larger narrative, covering topics its globally minded readers cared deeply about including issues related to social and environmental justice.

Reaching a circulation of over 60,000 copies distributed across North America and beyond, Heads Magazine remained independent cover-to-cover. With unrestricted latitude, Heads addressed the larger narrative, covering topics its globally minded readers cared deeply about including issues related to social and environmental justice. Finally, conscious-minded heads could unite in one community, free of stigma and clichés.

A pot party in every issue.

Heads sought out and brought together innovators in the cannabis movement. It championed Soma and his organic grow wisdom from Amsterdam. Heedy seed breeders Subcool and MzJill shared their secrets. Headsgirls, a photographic hurrah to the stoner girl next door, launched in a blaze of feminine glory.

As Heads solidified its reputation as a well-respected voice within the global marijuana community, more got aboard. From reggae lion Damian Marley to Arcade Fire, Russell Simmons and Drive-By Truckers, musicians opened up. Surf legends, the Malloy Brothers and Olympic Gold, Ross Rebagliati shared their journeys. Heads was featured in major motion pictures, like Grandma’s Boy, exemplifying its place as a cultural icon.

Empowering cannivores from all walks of life, the magazine advocated the good fight whether for fair access and legalization, or by supporting environmental crusaders and organic visionaries. Heads had captured the cultural imagination and readers were loving the ride.

Then everything changed.

Independent print magazines were severely affected by a faltering distribution system and the growing dominance of the Internet. By 2007 it was clear the print version could not continue. Many newspapers and magazines at the time tried to make the transition to digital but the formula was elusive. With heavy hearts, Heads hit the snooze button.

No longer was the talk surrounding cannabis about activism, drug dealers and incarcerations, but mainstream acceptance, designer dispensaries and legalization for both medical and recreational use.

And while the Heads team receded from the landscape like dormant mushrooms, 10 years went by and society caught up. No longer was the talk surrounding cannabis about activism, drug dealers and incarcerations, but mainstream acceptance, designer dispensaries and legalization for both medical and recreational use. Heads’ original audience—a niche, counterculture group—was now the world.

Counting down to Legalization.

With changing attitudes came the final push for legalization. Canada will be the first major industrialized nation to legalize the rec market. This will be the beginning of a lot of great stories and Heads is set to bear witness.

With the fast-paced corporatization of the marijuana marketplace, now more than ever, the cannabis community needs an authentic leader. Already proven as an integral part of the scene for 20 years, Heads will resume its role as a trusted goodwill cannabis ambassador.

Heads is back!

Today, Heads Lifestyle continues the journey as the voice of modern cannabis with dynamic content designed to entertain and enlighten. The new narrative has struck a cord resonating deeply with content that speaks to every facet of the modern cannivore. Heads Lifestyle, a new aesthetic for an evolving community. Think. Laugh. Act.

Headslifestyle.com is brought to you by the original creative team behind Heads Magazine. Still independent, still having fun.

Heads Lifestyle sat down with Craig Nejedly, owner of Satori Wellness and visionary cannabis entrepreneur to talk about the trials and elation of finally opening his new dispensary in McKinleyville, Humboldt County, California, living a conscious-minded lifestyle, growing organic cannabis, sustainability, positivity, and skateboarding, of course.

Growing positivity in Humboldt County

Heads Lifestyle sat down with Craig Nejedly, owner of Satori Wellness and visionary cannabis entrepreneur to talk about the trials and elation of finally opening his new dispensary in McKinleyville, Humboldt County, California, living a conscious-minded lifestyle, growing organic cannabis, positivity, and skateboarding, of course.

Heads Lifestyle: This is not the first business venture for the Satori Brand. Tell us the Satori story in a nutshell?

Satori: Satori Movement began in 1998 with the mission being a conscientious skateboard company. We started with skateboard wheels and a professional team that represented the brand. At that time, we were also making hemp and organic clothing. To this day, we still produce clothing and skateboard wheels that are distributed globally. Now Satori is also up front and open in the cannabis industry as we always had a reputation as a stoner brand.

HL: What is Satori’s guiding principle in all that you do?

S: Our goal has always been to make top-notch, high-grade products as sustainably as possible while promoting them with a positive branding image focused on an organic, conscious-minded lifestyle.

HL: Choosing McKinleyville as the location for your dispensary was a real collaborative affair with the town and community. Can you comment on this experience?

S: It took seven years to open the dispensary. McKinleyville is just north of Arcata where Humboldt State University is located. There were no dispensaries in McKinleyville and it was the fastest growing community on the North Coast, so it just presented itself as being a great location. Satori Movement has also been operating out of McKinleyville since 2009.

Our goal has always been to make top-notch, high-grade products as sustainably as possible while promoting them with a positive branding image focused on an organic, conscious-minded lifestyle.

The main hold up was Humboldt County being so conservative and passing a ban on dispensaries. Our application was accepted and processed for agency referrals, which is the last step before a staff report and then public hearing. Satori Wellness was so close to opening in 2011 until the County passed a ban on dispensaries and our application was suspended. Finally, in 2016, the County issued a new ordinance to allow dispensaries and we had to reapply. (Satori Wellness opened on March 3, 2018.)

HL: What’s the reception been like in the neighbourhood? Have folks been cool?

S: Now that the shop is open, the community support has been great. We run a very nice, clean and professional shop. Our local supervisor even came through in support and bought a salve product for his aching knee. Business has been great in our first month. We are here to support the community and add value and integrity to the perception of cannabis. We have even joined the local chamber of commerce and have their support as well.

HL: Do you carry any items or products that are unique to Satori Wellness?

S: Yes, for sure. I have multiple farms under the brand Talking Trees Farms. Satori Wellness exclusively carries all the Talking Trees products in Humboldt and produces a wide variety of strains, bubble hash, distillates, oils, topicals and edibles. We are the exclusive retailer in this region for the brands Blue River Terpenes, Prana Medicinals, Dying Breed Seedz, Gold Drop and more. Of Course, we also carry Satori Movement apparel as well as skate products. Actually, we may be the only dispensary that is also a skate shop.

HL: Has there been any surprise hot sellers since opening? What’s the most common or popular purchase?

S: Pre-rolls are a huge seller. We sold almost 700 pre-rolls in our first month. They fly out the door daily. Space Gem gummies, which is a Talking Trees affiliated brand, is probably our second top seller. In general, 1/8s of flower are definitely popular but everything we carry sells—carts, high-end live resins and sauces. We even carry cannabis suppositories!

A look inside

HL: What is the greatest misconception potential customers have towards cannabis?

S: Options. Most customers don’t realize how many ways there is to experience cannabis. We see customers of all ages including a great deal of older people who are coming in to learn more about cannabis. There are so many ways to intake cannabis from raw THCA products that do not get you high, to CBD, which is particularly beneficial for many ailments and diseases.

HL: What’s your employee policy about sampling the products?

S: Due to state regulations, we are not allowed to offer samples to employees or customers. We are actually mandated by the state to quarantine and destroy all samples used for display. So we hold social club type events at a private location where our budtenders can get to know our vendors and their products. This gives them the opportunity to try products and that enables them to provide customers with more knowledge.

HL: Do you have any compassionate pricing programs for veterans, first responders, low-income individuals, or others?

S: We are launching a compassion program now. Veterans always get 10% off every day of the week. For sick patients that cannot afford the cannabis they need, our compassion program will ensure they get access to their medicine through deep discounts or even free product in some cases.

HL: What does the future hold for Satori? You’ve achieved your goal of opening a dispensary, where are your sights set next?

S: Satori is always growing into the future. There may be more dispensaries to open in the state. Satori is part of a family of brands that I own and operate. Satori Wellness is a great way for us to learn about the retail experience; to know what works and sells in the retail environment. I also own High Grade Distribution that is in an adjacent unit to the dispensary. High Grade Distribution was formed in 2004 as a distribution centre for brands like Creation Skateboards, Upful Skateboarding and others. Now, we’ve converted High Grade’s operations to cannabis distribution serving shops in California. We will primarily be distributing products from Talking Trees Farms so we are constantly working on new infused products and extracts to bring to market. These are always produced from high grade, organic and sustainably grown cannabis. So the future is bright yet busy! I have been in the cannabis industry for over 20 years now. I started growing in 1998; I am in this industry for the long run and excited about the opportunities.